Deuteronomy 7

If you ask someone, "Is the majority correct?" hopefully, you'll get an answer along the lines of "Well, it depends on what issue you're talking about." I'll use some extreme examples so I don't offend anyone. The vast majority of the population think that jumping off the Empire State Building without a parachute or any safety device is stupid--and they'd be correct. On the other hand, at one point in history, most people thought that time and space were two completely unrelated phenomena--and those people were incorrect. Having numbers on your side can feel comforting, though--you know that you have support from others.

However, numbers have nothing to do with why God chose the Israelites. In verse 7, Moses explains, "The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other people, for you were the fewest of all peoples." From a human point of view, if you were trying to create a movement to change the world, you'd logically start with the most prolific group of people, wouldn't you? That way, you'd have less work to do and more resources to spread whatever harebrained idea that sprang from your noggin.

But God eschews such a strategy, instead choosing the Israelites because He loves them and because He doesn't break His word (verse 8). And now that Jesus died for our sins, were are all God's chosen people. Sure, once we turn to God, we may not become as ridiculously prosperous as Joel Osteen would have us believe. Unlike the Israelites, we still get sick, our businesses fail, and some couples remain barren (verses 13-15). But infinitely better than any earthly success is the treasure that awaits us in heaven. Platitudinous, I know, especially since I myself do get caught up with worldly concerns and pursuits.

This chapter's Moses nugget comes in the form of a neat little couplet that he apparently composes on the fly in verse 10: "those who hate him [God] he will repay to their face by destruction; / he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him." Moses basically says that if you spurn God, you're going to get yours, but I'm a little amused that Moses decided to use poetry to convey that little tidbit. I suppose the use of meter and rhythm does draw attention to this warning in case any of the Israelites were nodding off at this point. However, Moses has also made some equally important points without feeling the need to slip into poetry, so I wonder why he decided to do it here. Maybe his muse (which I suppose would be God) just decided to strike him here.